&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Islamabad hospital fire: What we know about one of the biggest facility that housed Imran Khan")
A fire at the state-run hospital in Pakistan’s Islamabad on Wednesday (Aug 26) claimed the lives of 14 newborn babies. The fire broke out on the third floor of the Mother and Child Ward at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, considered amongst the best in the country. When the fire broke out, the nursery was housing 15 newborns, of whom just one was rescued.
Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences is a premier state-run hospital which receives approximately 7,000–9,000 patients daily, with 30,000–40,000 people benefiting from the facility each day when attendants and families are included, according to Pakistan's Federal Health Minister.
It is also the largest tertiary-care hospital in Islamabad, with nearly 1,300 beds and more than 27 specialties.
Notably, it was also the same hospital where former prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan was admitted for a brief medical examination where he was declared fit and later taken back to prison.
What caused the fire?
Though the exact technical cause has not yet been established, a preliminary report released by PIMS said that a nebuliser near an incubator reportedly exploded, after which oxygen caught fire and smoke entered the babies' breathing systems, reported Geo News.
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Initially it was reported that an electrical short circuit caused the fire, apparently starting around the AC. Meanwhile, an official fact-finding committee has been ordered to determine precisely what caused the ignition and what allowed it to spread.
Inadequate safety arrangements
The nursery contained high concentrations of supplemental oxygen, which according to officials intensified the fire.
But what is great concern was that there were serious fire-safety and evacuation problems. A fire-brigade report cited inadequate safety arrangements, including closed emergency exits and obstructions on evacuation routes. There are also allegations that hospital security initially obstructed firefighters.
